Builds Hammersaurus Lex - The LX470 gets tons (1 Viewer)

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a 2015 prius C intermediate steering shaft is the perfect size to go from the firewall splined output to the input of an 80 series box.

Pics of this please. And an explanation of how you discovered that oddity.
 
OK, so I spent last weekend creating little tabs to capture all the link mounts, coilover mounts, etc. That takes a long time and requires a complete disassembly, welding, grinding, painting, etc. I'm only working with an angle grinder here so it's not like I can just plasma out a new plate.

Also, in general, a 3 link is somewhat challenging to package because of the exhaust, driveshaft, frame, and so on. I can see why a lot of people just get lazy and run radius arms, but then I also don't really see the point of a SAS if you're going to run radius arms. But that's just me.

Got all that done and resumed cutting fenders. I'm fundamentally at a point where a bunch of stuff is starting to hit monuments:

* Tire to firewall
* Tire to inner fender / fuse box / air cleaner / diagnostic port / fuel lines
* Drag link to frame (when turned)
* driveshaft to AT oil pan

With that in mind, I think I'm getting to a point where I need to limit uptravel under flex more than limiting uptravel under dual stuff. This requires outboarding my bump stops as much as possible, so I built little platforms to go over the knuckles. This may sound counterintuitive, but when the shock/coilover is fully compressed, the tire has plenty of room ordinarily, but then when the other side droops out, the whole axle pivots about the bump stop - meaning the tire will keep coming up and into the fender. The front is especially annoying since tires turn, etc.

Making matters more complicated, domestic axles typically use more caster and less kingpin axis inclination, so you just need to keep cycling the suspension and checking stuff out.

Overall, though, the good news is that all the typical problems with a SAS (frame interference, etc) that require massive amounts of lift aren't a problem - I just am dealing with tires that are a teensy bit too big for this platform. I said this with my 80 build, so I'll say it again here - 40s would be way easier to fit. But now both my rigs run the same kind of tire, which is nice.

Here are some pictures
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For those wondering, the rear a/c seems like it'll still work. So that's a plus.
 
Pics of this please. And an explanation of how you discovered that oddity.

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And honestly, I just sort of eyeballed it and got lucky. Totally unusual for me. But it does indeed work swimmingly. And now I have contributed real KNAWLEDGE to this forum
 
so I'll say it again here - 40s would be way easier to fit.

I love it! That’s got to be a first for that comment in the 100’s section. What size are these? I didn’t see it listed in the first post.

Well done for sure 👍🏽
 
I love it! That’s got to be a first for that comment in the 100’s section. What size are these? I didn’t see it listed in the first post.

Well done for sure 👍🏽
41.5x13.5xr17
 
How’s the progress coming?
 
How’s the progress coming?
Limit straps are done, brakes lines are re-routed along the axle. Hydro assist line routing has been a headache because I stuffed the ram up as high as I could (to avoid having to armor it). With the proximity of the a/c and exhaust to the driver's frame rail, it's also probably going to be safer to route the lines outside the frame, but then you have to worry about them getting pinched, etc. Anyway, after literally 5-6 hours of experimenting, I think I've found the right path for them.

Remaining items are to finish plumbing the brakes and bleed them, re-attach all the little ground wires and cable ties that were attached to the IFS, cinch everything up, tighten jam nuts after one final alignment, then set her on her shoes. If I get any significant time this weekend I should be able to knock that stuff out.

There's always about 10 hours of little polishing tasks like replacing overly-long-bolts with the right length bolts, painting bare metal that's hard to access, deburring things, moving the battery tray up a quarter of an inch, etc. I think I've knocked most of that crap out but I wouldnt' be surprised if I need another weekend to feel comfortable rolling it back into the driveway.

I may just leave it on its unicorn tires for now so that it doesn't seem totally bizarre sitting in the driveway. Then I need to prep the 80 for a week at the hammers. When I get back I'll tackle the rear axle.
 
Open items -

1) not sure if the master cylinder/booster combo is going to be up to the task of the 1 ton calipers, but I ran the high pressure lines for the PS to the firewall so I can at least swap it all out later if necessary.

2) Front sway bar *should* package in there nicely but it'll be a threading-the-needle exercise like it was on the front of the 80. I'll be running standard race car 49 spline 37.5 bars so I can fine tune the bar rather than the arms

3) I'd like to essentially make tube fenders at some point because she's a wide pig but the large radius of the fender opening isn't something I have the fab skills to tackle. And I think it'd look dumb with the truncated trapezoid thing that XJ guys do. At least on a bubblemobile like the lexus

4) I have been putting off the windshield washer reservoir issue for a while but I should probably sort that out at some point

5) I'm hoping unplugging VGRS and letting that system lock itself into a fixed-style is going to be strong enough to rely on but it does make me a little apprehensive
 
I’ll be eager to see a tube fender if you end up doing something along those lines. I’ve liked that idea too but never wanted it to look like a Jeep either.

Thanks for the update, and have a great trip to the Hammers w/ the 80!
 

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